TALIBAN EXPAND FACE COVERING ORDERS

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered all female presenters on TV channels to cover their faces on air, the country’s biggest media outlet said Thursday.

The order came in a statement from the Taliban’s Virtue and Vice Ministry, tasked with enforcing the group’s rulings, as well as from the Information and Culture Ministry, the TOLOnews channel said in a tweet. The statement called the order “final and non-negotiable,” the channel said.

The statement was sent to the Moby Group, which owns TOLOnews and several other TV and radio networks, and the tweet said it was being applied to other Afghan media as well.

An Afghan local media official confirmed his station had received the order and was told it was not up for discussion. He said the station has no other option. He spoke on condition he and his station not be identified for fear of problems with the authorities.

Several female anchors and presenters posted their photos on social media showing them with their faces covered with face masks during presenting programs. One prominent TOLO presenter, Yalda Ali, posted a video of herself putting on a face mask with a caption: “a woman being erased, on orders from the Virtue and Vice Ministry.”

During the Taliban’s first time in power from 1996 to 2001, they imposed heavy restrictions on women, requiring them to wear the all-encompassing burqa that even covered the eyes with mesh and barring them from public life. and education

After they seized power again in Afghanistan in August, the Taliban initially appeared to have moderated somewhat their restrictions, announcing no dress code for women. But in recent weeks, they have taken a sharp, hardline pivot.